2930 BLOG

This week on Get to Know 2930 we are meeting Rob Reeves! Rob is one of our newest members here on the 2930 team but fits right in with the team. Rob is 2930’s Director of Business Development. To break that down for you, he is the man that is out there looking for new clients and also following up with them to make sure that they are happy and connected with us. Because we are an advertising agency, we try to be very transparent with our clients by making sure they understand 100% what’s happening with each project. We never want a client questioning what we are doing.

Rob’s favorite part about working with 2930 is our team of “creative geniuses,” as he calls them. “Everyday I am blown away by the amazing work they do! Watching a sometimes simple creative idea blossom into an awarding winning, and always astounding, completed project is a treat,” Rob said.

Some background about Rob is that he was born in Houston Texas, but raised here in Dallas and attended Highland Park High School. He then went to Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. He graduated with a degree in marketing/finance and a minor in economics.

And like all Get to Know 2930 posts we like to share some fun facts about our team members! Rob is in the midst of completing his first novel that so far has 62,000 words; he is a BMI published songwriter; he has hunted in Kenya twice, has been charged by a rhino (broken ribs), and is also a published poet. Rob has also been married to his beautiful wife for 40 years and has 2 children. Rob also believes he can still hit a curve ball… well, we will have to test that out one day!

That concludes another Get to Know 2930! I hope you have enjoyed reading about our amazing team here at 2930 and getting to know each of us not just by what we do, but also a little bit about our personalities. Stay tuned for more!

Today is a special segment here on the Get to Know 2930 blog series because today we are highlighting the President of 2930, Chris Reeves! Chris is definitely his own type of character here in the office. Working alongside of Chris and Carly this summer has brought me millions of laughs and tons of new experiences as I worked as an intern. They are both in tune with the city and all the events happening around Dallas.

Chris has always wanted to start a business on his own, and has in fact started multiple endeavors in the past, but when he and Carly saw the opportunity to start a different kind of business–an advertising agency–they jumped at the chance!

While working near Chris I see him working on tons of things during a single day and so for this blog post I asked him specifically what a day in the life of the president is like. “Most days I spend discussing development tasks with our developers, brainstorming with the team, talking with clients and writing proposals for potential clients. Every day is different, though. Things can get pretty crazy around here because we’re a startup,” Chris says. Everyday is a crazy day for Chris! Thank goodness for Carly to help keep him grounded.

Like most of the other team members, Chris’s favorite part about working with 2930 is the team in general! “I’m so lucky to be able to work with such an awesome group of people including my wife!”

Some back history about Chris is that he was born right here in Dallas, and grew up in Plano. He graduated from University of North Texas with a degree in Journalism concentrated in Advertising along with a minor in Marketing.

Now some really, really interesting fun facts about Chris are: He is married to Carly the VP of 2930; they have three dogs and one cat; he has two albums out as DJ Cool-C; and he was in a ska-punk band called the Bored-Agains from 98-2002. He was also in other bands too but that one was the longest. In his spare time he is an office ninja. Chris is also a great dancer as well. Jurassic Park is his favorite movie, Adventure Time is his favorite show, and finally Flula made a personal video to Chris for his birthday!

That is all about Chris Reeves here at 2930! I hope you have been enjoying reading and getting to know the team that makes up 2930! Stay tuned for more!

This week on Get To Know 2930 we are highlighting our Vice President Carly Reeves! Being the VP for 2930 Carly takes care of things like managing expenses, making sure bills get paid, looking for networking opportunities for the team, organizing activities, managing a few accounts, and doing a lot of other things related to the operations side of the business. She is a very busy woman!

But she loves 2930 more than anything. The reason Carly and Chris (her husband) started 2930 was because they saw the way that clients were being treated at other advertising agencies and thought they could do better. They decided to quit their jobs there and start up their own agency. “We wanted to create a place where people felt safe to bring their big ideas,” said Carly.

Carly is from Cleveland, Ohio, but was born in Salem, Massachusetts. She attended college at Kent State University and Miami University of Ohio. She wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do in college, “so I found myself just taking classes because they sounded cool. So that resulted in taking a lot of different courses like Italian Cinema, Native American Studies, and Studying the Bible as a Historical Text.” She learned about marketing while working for startups as a marketing coordinator.

Carly’s favorite part about being the VP is that she gets to decide how our office looks and decide on the tone of the brand. “Writing our mission statement and four foundation principles was also a great part of building this business! I think overall, laying the groundwork for something that generates revenue and provides jobs has been the best part of being a VP.”

Some fun facts about Carly are: she was only planning on staying in Texas for three months, but now lives here! She knows how to ride both English and Western styles of horseback riding. She also loves superheros of any kind, and will see any superhero movie, even if it looks dumb. Some of her favorite activities include traveling and reading books. Her goal is to always read more pages than she did the year before. And finally she loves trivia, and claims to be the best at it!

We hope you enjoyed another Get To Know 2930 segment here on our blog! Stay tuned and get to know more of our team members in our next installment.

This week on our “Get to know 2930” series we are highlighting Josh Duke, 2930’s Content Director. Josh is in charge of making sure that everything that is written is up to standards. He also helps brainstorm ideas to reach new audiences for our clients, works on the company newsletter, and also answers any questions about writing that the team may have. Josh’s favorite part about a new project for 2930 is getting something new to write about! Josh loves researching and really getting to know the client. Josh’s favorite part about being on the 2930 Creative team is the people. “The team always makes me laugh and we cheer each other up when we’re having bad days. It truly feels like a family!”

Josh was born in the Northeast, but moved to Flower Mound, TX when he was in elementary school. So even though he often says he is a Yankee, he has lived most of his life in the great state of Texas. Josh graduated from Southern Methodist University here in Dallas where he received his degree in English/Creative Writing and a minor in German Language.

A fun fact that most people do not know about Josh is that Josh and Chris (The President of 2930) were best friends before the company even started. So Josh has truly seen how far 2930 has grown since the beginning, and has been with us through every step of the way.

Like all of us here at 2930 we nerd out about certain things, and Josh’s nerd out is both board games and video games! His wife’s family never played board games, so he has slowly managed to win her over, and now she loves them as well. Their favorite game is Sentinels of the Multiverse, Walking Dead board game, and King of Tokyo. They are also both obsessed with the LEGO video game as well.

We hoped you enjoyed another 2930 team spotlight! Stay tuned to see who our next employee spotlight will be!

Today is a very important day for me. Today, I am a five-year survivor of cancer. Ask anyone who had cancer and they’ll explain why this is an important day. The medical profession uses five year benchmarks in a variety of metrics, from survival rates to recurrences. It’s a day of celebration, and it’s also a day of reflection on five years that have had highs and lows and many more lessons.

It’s my intention to share some of this accrued wisdom with you. I am 27 years old, a husband, a business partner, a brother, a friend to many–and a cancer survivor (It’s nice being able to add that to the list of titles). You don’t have to take this advice at face value; in fact, I would love to talk more about any of these observations on Twitter or email. I don’t have as much experience as some or the knowledge of others, but I do have these successes, and I think that these accomplishments happened because I believed in these following truths:

5) Admit When You Need Help

This piece of wisdom actually saved my life. I had testicular cancer, which is more common in young men. It is also one of the most treatable, particularly if the cancer is caught in stage 1 (99% survival rate for stage 1), but in order to treat it, you first have to realize that something is wrong and, more importantly, have to swallow your pride and seek help.

Speaking broadly, asking for help can be incredibly difficult, but doing so can also change your life. It can solve a problem you’re facing and help expose problems you didn’t even know you had. Having another opinion can make a fundamental difference, but perhaps more poignantly, knowing when to ask for help makes you a more well-rounded, humble person.

4) Don’t Let Your Troubles Define You

Whenever something traumatic happens in a life, it’s easy to point to that moment as a turning point in your life. These moments change who we are, make us think differently, and live differently. But it is important to not let these moments of sadness take over our lives.

After the operation, I spent weeks terrified of what had happened. What-ifs filled my head: what if they missed some of the tumor? What if I can’t have kids? What if the cancer comes back? What if I hadn’t caught the tumor in time? It’s important to learn how to silence your worries. Meditation, talking to someone (a professional or a loved one), or various other coping methods are helpful not just for survivors of bad events, but for everyone who ever faces troubles.

3) At the Same Time, Learn from Your Past

One of my favorite recent reads is Dark Eden by Chris Beckett. In this sci-fi tale, the main cast of characters are constantly facing troubles and impossible odds, and one of the main characters takes up the expression “We really are here,” which quickly becomes the refrain for the whole novel. This phrase resonates with me: while we don’t want our troubles to define who we are, it’s important to realize that we really are here, in the present, and we only got here because of where we’ve come from.

No one has lived the same life as you. You are entirely unique and will be unique for the remainder of time. You can relate to others, and thanks to the Internet we can share experiences easier than ever, but ultimately, you have to take the time to reflect on your journey, what has kept you alive (and hopefully successful), and what you need to do to either find or fight for that success.

2) Live Presently

Have you ever woken up Monday, blinked, and headed out to happy hour on Friday with friends? What happened to your week? What were the highs? What were the lows? It’s very easy to live a 9-5 life, to fall into the Netflix binge routine, to plop down in front of a video game console and power away the hours.

Don’t be a passive observer in your life. Break up the monotony of your daily routine. Go for a walk. Pass up on your favorite restaurant to try something new, even if it’s not as good. Go to some place new. Make memories and put down your phone: live in the moment and not for the Instagram shares. This all sounds really heavy-handed, but let me use my cancer card this once. Remember: we really are here, folks. Make the most of it

1) Find the Things in your Life Worth Fighting for and Fight

When I was diagnosed with cancer, it made me evaluate the things in my life that were most important to me: 1) my partner Rachel, 2) my family and friends, 3) and my job.

I considered the things I needed to change and made those changes. 1) I asked Rachel to marry me as soon as I could because I knew I couldn’t live without her. 2) I was unhappy with my lack of a social life so I put myself out there and made friends with as many people as I could. 3) When Carly and Chris offered me a partnership at 2930 Creative, I realized that I wanted nothing more than the adventure of being a business owner, so I left my comfortable job to take on a challenge that I knew would bring me more happiness.

You know the obstacles in your life better than anyone. Some of these will be easy to fix. Some will feel almost insurmountable. Just remember, you can rely on others (see piece of advice number 5) and can ask for help. But if there’s something in your life that you believe is essential, than treat it as such. Fight for it like a drowning man fights for air. Make every move in your life with your goals in the back of your mind, and I think you’ll discover a greater sense of purpose.

I’m sure you have your own five truths that you believe are essential for everyone to know, and we would love to hear them. Post them in our comments, send us an email, join our conversation on Facebook because we love reading what everyone has to say. One of the things that has made 2930 Creative a successful, award-winning agency in such a short period of time is genuine interest in people and eagerness to listen instead of just talking. So what truths have helped guide you through life?

Today on our “Get to Know 2930” series we are highlighting our 2930 Creative Project Manager Jen Eaton. Being the project manager Jen is in charge of multiple things that go on here at 2930, but she mainly focuses on helping to communicate with clients and making sure they get exactly what they want. Jen’s favorite part about working with 2930 is the team collaboration. “At any time, I can pull team members into a project to bounce ideas off of them. We have a really solid group of experts in varying fields that work together well. We get to have fun and work with passion. It shows in the work we do.”

Jen loves being the project manager for 2930 because she loves to keep things organized and structured. This attention to detail helps ensure that all of 2930’s clients receive great care. She also loves seeing a project go from an idea to completion. “There is nothing greater than having a client that is proud of the work that you’ve done for them. I love helping businesses achieve their dreams.”

And of course, like all team members here at 2930, Jen has a few things that she geeks out about. They are her awesome husband Corey and her little tornado of a boy Hudson who is now almost three years old! Jen also nerds out about baseball (Texas Rangers), Crossfit, tracking storms, and Fixer Upper with Chip and Joanna Gaines.

We hope you enjoyed another 2930 team spotlight. Our team is comprised of talented individuals, each with their own unique personalities and skills. Together, however, we’re an award-winning team that does great work in Dallas and beyond. Stay tuned to see who our next employee spotlight will be.

The Newbie

Being now a junior in college, I realize “adult life” is starting to kick in and will become my real life. It scares most everyone I know half to death! People graduating this year were saying, “I have to find a job, I don’t know where I am going to go after this!” And of course listening to all of this, my mind is freaking out and not wanting to graduate because of the horror stories I am hearing even as a sophomore. It terrifies me.

One day I was sitting in my dorm room wondering what I was going to do for this coming summer for an internship. God heard my prayers and lead me to the beautiful website of 2930 Creative. I had never even tried to look up advertising agencies before, but thought maybe I would want to get a foot in the door to see if I would really love it. I emailed Chris and things just started rolling! I was amazed with all of the opportunities that I would be able to be apart of with this company. Every time I would get off the phone with Chris, or even after I meet him and Carly for the first time over spring break, I would have to pinch myself to see if this was real life. I wondered how was this opportunity even possible. I could not wait for the summer to come, and for me to start my new internship with them. I was not scared at all.

The first day I came into the office I was of course a little nervous, just like the first day of any new job. Chris and Carly were so awesome and sweet and made my first day awesome. Working with them, I saw that they really took the time to help me learn about this world of advertising and want me to take away some great experience from this internship.

I think this openness isn’t something you find everywhere you go. They answer any questions that I may have, and really took me on as part of the 2930 team. And not just Chris and Carly, but the whole team. They are all so awesome and help me learn so much. I am so beyond blessed to work with such an awesome agency and with such awesome people. They definitely made the “adult world” not scary at all to me.

Check out the 2930 Creative Instagram feed this summer. I’ll be posting pictures about 2930 Creative and agency life during my internship.

This year we hired our first intern! Emily will be interning with us throughout this summer. She will be helping us around the office and with our social networks. We are also very excited as this is the inaugural year of our intern program. We could not have asked for a better intern than Emily to start this program. Her shining personality and awesome ideas have been a much needed addition to our daily routine. I asked Emily a few questions about advertising and her internship. Read ahead to get to know Emily!

What are you majoring in at school?

I am majoring in Advertising and PR at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri.

How did you find 2930 Creative?

I really wanted to be a part of a creative team. I did a Google search and found the 2930 website. I thought the website and the team looked really cool so I sent an email about interning.

What are you most excited about for your internship?

I am most excited about the knowledge that I’ll get. I have already learned so much in a month. Because 2930 is not huge, I get to have my hands on a lot of aspects of the campaigns.

What do you love the most about advertising?

I love that we can take something from nothing, and then turn it into something that no one has thought about before.

What do you nerd out for?

I nerd out for Parks and Recreation, Settlers of Catan, rom coms, Scandal, shopping and coffee!

Look out for Emily’s posts on the 2930 social networks. She will be taking over our Instagram feed this summer, and occasionally posting on Twitter!

Here at 2930 Creative we have a team full of different characters! Today we are highlighting our very talented Art Director Ashley Smith. As the Art Director for 2930 Ashley deals with anything related to design. She collaborates with the clients and the team to make sure that the visual communication for the designs are all complete and to everyone’s liking, especially the client’s. Ashley design work includes logos, branding collateral, ads, website comps, social media graphics, brochures, and more. Her favorite part about each project is, “coming up with the creative solution to help our clients’ businesses succeed.”

A little background about Ashley: she has been doing graphic design for as long as she can remember. While growing up she loved computer games that were art based or just playing around with Microsoft Paint for hours at a time. Ashley’s mom was also a graphic designer, and she taught Ashley how to use Photoshop when she was just in middle school. You could say graphic design runs in the family. Ashley graduated from Oral Roberts University with a degree in graphic design. “At first it was just a hobby. Then in college it became a passion, and now a career. I’ve always wanted a career where I could help people, and I love that design lets me use art to do just that.”

Ashley’s favorite part about working for 2930 is the people that she gets to work with every day. I guess she thinks we are all pretty awesome in our own nerdy way! Of course, Ashley is a little nerdy herself, and some of her favorite hobbies include DIY projects, raising golden retrievers, eating sweet potato fries, and spending time with her handsome husband Eric.

We hope you enjoyed the first of our employee spotlights as you got to know Ashley. Stay tuned to see the next person who will be highlighted!

Today, Google is updating their search algorithm to favor mobile-friendly websites over websites that are not optimized for mobile. The change makes sense, as 60% of all website traffic now comes from mobile users. However, it will affect many small businesses who have not yet had the opportunity to update their website for mobile viewing. If you believe your website is not mobile friendly, don’t panic. We’re here to answer some of your questions and give you some tips on how to move forward.

What is mobile-friendly, according to Google?

A mobile-friendly website is a site that is optimized for viewing on a tablet or smartphone. Google will be changing their algorithm to favor sites that are considered mobile-friendly. This includes readability, easy-to-click links, large text and responsive design. Google’s Webmaster Tools also has a very handy quick tool to use to make sure that your website meets these requirements.

What is responsive design, and how do I check to see if my site is responsive?

A responsive website design means that the site will readjust its size depending on the screen size on which it is being viewed. Images and text realign for better viewing on smaller screens. Below is an example of one of our client websites.

Full Size

Responsive Size

To find out if your current website is responsive, use an app like Screenfly to view multiple screen sizes and resolutions. Simply enter your website domain URL and use the toolbar to test various popular tablet and smartphone sizes on the market.

My site is definitely not mobile-friendly. What do I do now?

You will experience a change in your mobile search traffic today. (Sources from Google say that this will NOT affect your desktop traffic). There are a few ways that you can fix the problem, and better prepare yourself for further changes. A site redesign on a CMS such as WordPress.org is a great way to build a responsive mobile-friendly website while on a budget. If you are on the WordPress platform and your site is not friendly, there are a few plugins that you can use to make your site responsive. If your site is not on WordPress, talk to your webmaster about how you can make your website more mobile-friendly.

2930 Creative builds beautiful responsive websites. All of our websites go through 23-point audits to make sure that they are easily viewed across a variety of desktop screen sizes, mobile devices, and tablets. Contact us today to talk about your website!